Was watching the news today, and they reported a story of a guy forgetting his gun at the shooting range. The range was "Shooter's Paradise" in Virginia. It was left at the stall he was using. How can you forget a weapon Well some other shooters at the range saw the gun, took turns firing it then took the weapon for themselves. BIG MISTAKE! The guys who took the weapon are on video tape ,and their picture is plasterd all over the evening news. Just a matter of time before they are ID'd and the cops come a knocking! Has anyone out there ever forget to take their weapon home after shooting? Or is this a fluke occurance

That is an amazing tale of woe! I'd say that the range was lacking in supervision for sure as far as the culprits go but how embarrassing for the gun owner! I can honestly say that I have never left a firearm unattended anywhere and here is why: The United States Marine Corps! To forget a rifle, or drop it, was tantamount to treason when I was in boot camp. Many, many push-ups and a hellish verbal assault were the rewards for forgetful recruits.

I will likely recall until the day I die an incident that occurred when I was in MCT (Marine Combat Training) just after boot camp. I had been stuck as a squad leader and the Sgt. instructing was having me show him where my guys were digging two-man fighting holes in the soft Carolina sand, stripped down to skivvie shirts in the humid July afternoon. We came to a hole where they were almost down to the required depth and the instructor recalled something he needed to tell someone. He sent one of the Privates digging to run off with the message. We were still pretty wet behind the ears, new to actually being Marines and at the words of the Sgt., he took off running. The guy left his M16A2 on top of his ALICE pack and as I opened my mouth to yell to him, the instructor told me to shut up. He then had me lock the bolt to the rear on this guy's orphan rifle, drop it in the hole and then his partner and I buried it! Buried it and were stomping on it with our own rifles raised over our heads, singing the Marine Hymn, when the rifle leaver returned. The look on his face told us he knew where that oh so previously clean weapon was. I hated that day, man.

Sorry to run off topic, you know how those Gyrenes get. Here's hoping they nai the thieves but what will happen to the owner? Keep us posted!

My dad had a similar experience hunting in Iowa. He was using my slug gun since his scope is actually a rifle scope so the reliefe puts it too close to his eye for comfortsake. I had left some ammunition in the blind to cut down on weight for the hike so he didn't bring any extra and forgot to load the gun. Fortunately he had his .44 super redhawk with so it was no problem to put down the shotgun and grab the pistol when he and my sister jumped some deer. He put the shotgun down on a backpack on the private property we had permission to hunt on and tried to circle around. They didn't get any shots off so my dad headed back to the truck and my shotgun. Except the shotgun wasn't there but the backpack was.

So he walks around looking on the ground, looking around the truck but couldn't find it. So he hears some people talking down a hill over the property line. Comes up to a group of people who are just leaving and asked if anyone had been up by the hog house where the gun was. Some guys in one van said "nope, been down here all day." He kinda glanced around inside but didn't see the gun in plain sight. So he asks the guy at the next and last truck and he says "Hang on let me make a call."

So he calls someone and says "hey did you guys find a gun while you were up by the hog house? ... you did? ... Well there is a guy here who wants it back."

The white van comes back and the guys were lookin a little guilty. Turns out one guy was smart enough to put it in his gun case to hide it from the other honest guy and has his shotgun disassembled between his knees. So I got my Mossy 500 back and none the worse for wear (thank god)

Just as a side note, I heard last week that that range " Shooters Paradise" burnt down. Apparently the backstop caught fire, and the whole building came down. The ATF had the building guarded 24/7 until they could clean it up to keep anyone from stealing any firearms that might have survived.

Of course this is hearsay, I didn't hear it from the news or anything. I heard it form my best friend, who's father owns a different range that I frequent. Of course I've never really heard many good things about shooter's paradise, but that might just be because I hang out at their compition, and I have a cousin that works at yet ANOTHER range in the area.

This email link is to reach site administrators for assistance, if you cannot access TFL via other means. If you are a TFL member and can access TFL, please do not use this link; instead, use the forums (like Questions, Suggestions, and Tech Support) or PM an appropriate mod or admin.

If you are experiencing difficulties posting in the Buy/Sell/Trade subforums of TFL, please read the "sticky" announcement threads at the top of the applicable subforum. If you still feel you are qualified to post in those subforums, please contact "Shane Tuttle" (the mod for that portion of TFL) via Private Message for assistance.

This email contact address is not an "Ask the Firearms Expert" service. Such emails will be ignored. If you have a firearm related question, please register and post it on the forums.